Like the Western Robin Hood, Ishikawa Goemon is famous in Japanese folklore for stealing from the rich to give to the poor. The story was adapted for kabuki and puppet theater and first staged in April 1778. In 1830, Osaka actor Nakamura Utaemon III assumed the role; Hokushu capitalized on the popularity of both play and actor with this print. Hands clasped, Goemon, possessing supernatural powers, summons ghostly warriors (their forms partially concealed by the painted netting). Setting the floorboards at a steep angle, Hokushu implied the steep recession of the stage, a compositional conceit frequently used by other Japanese artists.